PL Kicks Develops A Leader in Leicestershire
- Will is a participant at Leicester City in the Community's Premier League Kicks session at Wreake Valley Academy
- A sense of belonging has furthered Will’s confidence enough to take more ownership
- Will and his Syston peers played a football match against Loughborough Kicks
- LCFC Training Ground played host to hundreds of Leicester City in the Community participants during the off-season
Will, a PL Kicks participant from Wreake Valley Academy, has attended every session since it started, and that loyalty paid off with leadership skills recognised by Leicester City in the Community coaches.
Speaking inside the dome in Seagrave, Will spoke about how he got into Kicks: “I didn’t play for a football club. The opportunity came up to play a bit more competitively at my school, rather than just at a park.
“Teachers told us about Kicks and an email came from the school and I thought I would pop down and have a go. My friends go, the coaches are good, and they make it fun.”
The Syston Kicks regular discussed how the format of the session and the game of football gives you no choice but to engage with people you don’t know.
He explained: “If there are 25 people at a session, they will split you up into one game, so you do get to know a bit more about people that are in your team.
“There are people from different schools that come down, so you can get to know them as well and make good friends. You have definitely got to know their names otherwise you don’t know who you are passing to!
Described as shy when he first began Kicks, Will has become a likeable character at the session. He also spoke about what the programme means to him.
“I am more disciplined,” said Will. “Kicks is a good highlight of my week. “I play football on Monday with school and then I have football with Leicester City in the Community on Friday, which motivates me during the week. I try my best and at the end of the day it is about having some fun and chilling with your friends.”
A catalyst moment for Will was a previous visit to the Seagrave site, taking part in a Leadership Day during half-term. It signified a real upturn in his own self-belief.
When asked about this most recent opportunity at LCFC Training Ground, Will admitted he had been looking forward to it for a while.
“Leicester City’s training ground is one of the best in Europe; the foxes by the fountain are so cool, and the dome that frames the whole thing.
“It is a really big thing, not many of my friends have been here and we (his session peers) had been looking forward to it all week.
“Our team had a call the other day to discuss tactics – that’s how competitive we have been. We are a tight bunch of young people that want to do well and do the best for everyone else.”
Will was joined by his peers and young people from the Loughborough Kicks session for a football match, as part of Leicester City in the Community’s Summer at Seagrave.
Kicks, a Premier League Charitable Fund programme, looks to help young people develop interpersonal skills by using the power of football.
Free PL Kicks football sessions are running across the summer - find your nearest session HERE. For more on PL Kicks, contact Kicks Coordinator Ali Adnan via email at ali.adnan@lcfc.co.uk.